For such a prolific composer, Alexandre Desplat has been a long time coming in his new-found popularity in the Hollywood film-scoring scene. Few collectors of orchestral and instrumental film scores will deny that his has been a storied, skyrocketing career, and every new addition to his discography is worth investigating for such listeners.
With his increasing productivity have arrived scoring assignments which, whether foreign or obscure in release, or merely lost in the shuffle of his ever-expanding agenda, have slipped under the mainstream consciousness and eluded widespread recognition. Julie & Julia is perhaps one such score, rarely discussed amongst even dedicated film score circles: yet it certainly contains its fair share of qualities which deserve discussion.
Upbeat, Charismatic Cooking Score
The first two tracks in the score, “Julia's Theme” and “Julie's theme, offer a basic overview of the score's primary themes and attitudes from the beginning, showcasing a French-styled, prancing tone which utilizes very light orchestrations and subtle electronic elements (along with the expected accordion, harmonica and other French specialty instruments) to create a delicate yet propulsive musical atmosphere. The themes themselves are not particularly memorable, but their immensely upbeat charisma and pleasant renditions are quite enjoyable.
The score as a whole follows closely in this manner, and although its brevity at about 37 minutes long works in its favor rather than against it, the mostly short cue lengths and a smattering of wildly varying songs create a less than fluid listening experience. Light electric guitar accents (“Starting Out”) and carnival-styled brass romps (“Leaving Paris”) contribute to the jovial, playful atmosphere; and even the more reflective passages, such as the fragile thematic quotes in “My Husband Left Me,” maintain a more intrinsically optimistic heart, never really establishing any palpable sense of gravity.
Consistent Tone in Desplat's Soundtrack
The score's breezy waltzes (yet again Desplat pulls those crystal-clear waltzes right out of his hat!) and unceasingly tingling, warm-fuzzy atmosphere offers little notable development or variation: this is certainly where the album's running time works in its favor. Any longer and it could surely become overly repetitive and even irritable: indeed there may be many who might find the album already so with its consistently chipper attitude, combined with the shameless employment of French instruments.
The songs (easily the longest tracks on the album) offer some enjoyable diversion from the score and compliment it nicely, but as noted above, they differ from one another greatly and are scattered across the tracklist seemingly at random.
Summary
Offered as a digital download on iTunes and AmazonMP3, or as a CD-R from Amazon's Media-On-Demand service, the score is a strong and pleasant entry for Desplat, but offers far less emotional variety and development than many of his scores, and the music suffers from a certain degree of anonymity as a result, the distinctive French musical accents and warmly positive mood notwithstanding.
The instrumentation and melodies are sure to bring a smile, and the score is as smooth and undemanding as any Desplat has written. Those not seeking a thematic and emotional powerhouse will discover a fun, winsome little album which reinforces Desplat's inarguable talent, even as it leaves the listener with no lasting impression except a general improvement of mood. Recommended.
See also: Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack Review, Twilight: New Moon Score Review, Cheri Soundtrack Review.
David Abraham Dueck - I live in MN and do not surf or collect Hello Kitty paraphernalia. I instead play ice hockey, write articles for my blog, read tons of ...
